In The Shadows
by itsafangirl
Summary: -Set after after LS, Rose didn't come back to life- Katya Rouille is a normal girl, a 17 year old who lives with her adoptive parents and has a passion for the arts. But a girl who has what seems like the perfect life was ruined by her own existence. It's not her fault a coil of darkness is still boiled deep inside her from an event that happened before her birth...
1. Chapter 1

_"Tessa?" I heard my my name. No, that wasn't me- I wasn't her, I couldn't be her. I was Rose Hathaway, a name that had became a legend. Where was I?_

_"Yeah, I'm down here. I'll be up in a second, I promise. Give me a second." I looked up at the upstairs stairs that was so familiar yet so foreign. Where was I? My black hair flew as I turned my head. No, that wasn't possible. I didn't have black hair. I had brown hair, a deep rich brown in curls that Dimitri had loved… Dimitri. Where was he? Where was I? It was like being in Lissa's head again, except I didn't know who she was. Who was she? And like that, her mind opened like a book. Her name- my name- was Katya Sophia Rouile. I was adopted when I was little. I wanted to be the Sugar Plum Fairy. But I had a nasty temper and a careless, teenager attitude .I after I came after me, each fact containing something about me that wasn't true. I wasn't even sure if I was her, or if I was me._

_I also realized one thing._

_She had a coil of darkness inside her, eating away at her sanity, just like it did to me. Only she was alone, and I wasn't._

* * *

><p>"Tessa?" The hallway lights blinked on, revealing my stepmother peering down at me from the top of the stairs.<p>

"Yeah, I'm down here. I'll be up in a second, I promise. Give me a second." I looked past the glaring lights at my mother who stood there with her hands on her hips, wrinkling the stainless periwinkle nightgown she wore.

"Tessa, it's already three. You should be finished with homework already. Tessa, why are you boiling water?" she frowned at me. I could tell she was seconds from coming down here and inspecting what I was doing.

I sighed. " I know, Mom. I'll go to bed in a second. I'm just making sleep tea. It's caffeine free, I swear. There's no school tomorrow, anyways."

She studied me, tilting her head. "Alright. I'll go back to bed. Turn off the lights later, okay? Your dad hates it when the lights are on all night, no matter if he's home or not. It wastes electricity. Good night, Tessa." My dad normally wasn't home. He had an apartment in San Francisco where his office was. He was coming home to Seattle tomorrow, where my mom and I lived.

"Night, mom." I replied, picking up my phone and waiting for the water to boil. My traitorous sleepy eyes started to close…

"Seize her." It was a cold voice, darkened with an unfamiliar accent. I stood straight up, my eyes widening. It was just a dream, Tessa. But still, I couldn't shake the feeling… I turned around to assure myself that it wasn't real, then-

"Ah-" My scream was cut short by a chilling hand over my mouth, another clenching my throat, twisting my neck into a painful angle, making me see stars…

"Don't kill her, Dorcas… You know I like my food alive." His smile was cruel, and as he approached me, sizing me up, I could see through the filter of my vision red, horrible paranormal red eyes. "I'll take this one… Search the house. Surely she can't be living alone." With that, the one who was holding me let go, but not before shoving my head against the counter.

Crack. My mouth opened in a soundless scream, my mouth unable to speak or cry out. The pain increased and I became desperate to save myself. I backed up against the stove, trembling.

"Listen, little girl," He said, eyes glittering. "I can make this pleasant or torture for you… Just be a good little child and offer your neck willingly… Isn't that a good idea?" He smiled. That would be a good idea, I thought. I started to tilt my head to the side, my dark hair falling forward. A sudden sharp pain in my neck from earlier before made it impossible to any further… It also brought me to my surroundings. The kettle whistled on the stove like a warning. My eyes widened and I darted out of the way of the figure.

I wasn't fast enough. He seized me at a speed that wasn't human and shoved me against the stove. I hadn't moved anywhere from a millisecond before. My head rolled back, hitting the burning kettle filled with boiling water that wouldn't shut up. Hot water… The idea came to me and before I could study it's pros, cons, and effects like a scientist, I moved. I leaned and grabbed the rubber handle and managed the pour the scalding water on him before I burned myself too.

Stupid.

He barely twitched, but his grip on me loosened, and I fell to the ground,my head and ribs searing like never before.

Get _up_,Tessa! Stay on your feet. Stay alive. I hoisted myself onto my feet, trying to ignore the painful clenches that made me dizzy. My vision shifted from color to black and white, but his skin stayed the same chalky white. Unhuman, I thought. Animals, monsters!

He snarled at me, a new alert in his body language. "Dhampir." I pause at the unfamiliar word that flickers a new thought in my brain. What did-

I gasp as I am seized forward and shoved against the nook, my head banging behind the cabinets behind me.

"You made it hard enough, dhampir." He hissed at me. "But I've always liked dhampirs more than humans. Your useless struggle was worth it." Useless? The burn on his face had disappeared…

"How…?" I coughed out, confused.

He lunged at me, biting into my neck, blood dribbling, and-

the world exploded with pain.

No, that wasn't pain.

It was wonderful.

It was a new high.

It made my life.

I wasn't sure how long it could have been hours were seconds.

But

it

was

too

short.

My mouth opened up in a gasp.

That was pain, and I flailed, hitting him across the face. He released me, and I fell, yet again. But this time, my elbows a caught on the countertop. I could barely see or function, but I had one thought.

Survive.

This time I was on the offense, I shoved him into the gas stove that was still on. With a gigantic roar, the fire started up, and he was burning, yelling in a demanding voice. I staggered back.

I was a murderer, a killer of people. I didn't deserve to live.

I thought I was done.

He laughed back at me, hissing. "I will be your worst nightmare, dhampir. You might live in a society of tasteless humans, but will always be my tastiest meal." He leaped for me, still burning, sinking into my neck.

Just

kill

me

now

...

But then the worst of sounds- the front door opening.

There are sweet sounds, like the high notes of a flute, pointe shoes hitting the stage floor all at once, the Sugar Plum Fairy music.

But there were horrible, horrible sounds too- like this.

No, no more people, please, no! I screamed. Why couldn't this all be over?

He was still drinking my blood- the thought sickened me, and i refused to process it. I fell backwards, squirming, but I just hit my head again.

Crack.

I fell to the ground, grasping my gaze onto the white ceiling lights to focus on something.

A whistle in the air.

A surprised look.

A last breath.

He collapsed on my, face still buried in my neck. I screamed, a chill running through me, tears pouring down my face.

At last, he was off of me, a silver stick shoved into his back, and there I was, curled up, hair crazy, eyes red, looking broken.

Dark brown hair, a tan face, and deep brown eyes swarmed my vision, checking my pulse, searching my lifeless eyes.

"She's alive, but fading. Search the rest of the house, hurry!" His voice, how did I know that voice? Where- how- what-

Don't touch me! I screamed, but my voice didn't follow my command. I was fading, the red-eyed man was limp, the man holding me was had released me, blocking my vision of the man that had attacked me.

I was nearly. Burning him wasn't self defense. I could've have killed him. But I couldn't have, he was too strong, too powerful.

Mom! What happened to her?! Fear and panic bubbled in me. All these years after my parents died, she had taken care of me- and now she was gone.

I couldn't concentrate, thoughts came to me, but the flew away as soon as they went.

Blackness surrounded my vision, and the whole way down

I

couldn't

think.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey! So, the second Chapter of In The Shadows is up! Katya's name is now changed to Tessa. Her full name is in the chapter. :)

* * *

><p><em>A feeling too familiar rose over me. I was frantic, trying to warn her, but her eyes- my eyes- were heavy, my senses dull.<em>

_Tessa. Tessa! No. She couldn't die. She was only 17. When I died, I was only 18, but I died protecting Lissa. I wouldn't not let some other girl die, too.. It didn't matter what my connection was with her._

"Seize her." _The cold voice echoed. Tessa jumped, startled, shaking her head, a hand snaking to rest along the v of her collarbone like an old habit. The coldness of hand made her wake up and shiver._

_Bodies stretched out, forming over her throat and mouth. I couldn't tell if I was her or if I was watching her. The sudden pain reminded me again how she was human and not dhampir like I had been. The strigoi were just as strong as I remembered- but these two were old, very old, not like a few newly turned like I hoped._

_Come on, Tessa. Fight them. _

_One by one, injuries came. Concussion. Bruised ribs, possibly broken. Etc. Each injury she took, I took it from her. Giving her strength, taking away the bad side, just like I had done with Lissa._

_But then I was shoved on the ground, a painful crack exploding. Then pain, all pain, only pain. My throat was dry, but I was screaming. I couldn't function properly now in her body, like static in a TV._

_Then it was gone, taken. I could feel myself tremble and look up. Then-_

_Dimitri._

_I couldn't._

_But through Tessa's eyes, I just tried to tell him-_

_I_

_love_

_you._

* * *

><p><strong>Dimitri's Point of View<strong>

"I'm here to check on Tessa Rouille, on request from the Queen." I informed the nurse sitting behind the bright orange counter. Even though the queen was at court in Pennsylvania, she still asked me to give her a report on Tessa Rouille since I was conveniently at St. Vladimir's where she was stationed.

The nurse nods, not questioning my authority. "Fourth floor, room 436. Make a right from the elevators then a left. It'll be on the left." I nod, memorizing the instructions.

"Thank you." With that, I push past the door that separate the waiting room and wards. The nurse I asked for help is back to typing away on the computer in front of her.

Turning into the elevator hall, I push the up bottom, and almost immediately, one of the elevators dinged. The silver doors slid open, and a somber couple walked out, holding hands. Giving them a small nod of acknowledgment, I stepped into the shaft, the doors closing shut behind me followed by hip-hop music blasting from the speakers in the corners. Pressing the button 4, the elevator zoomed upward before the doors chimed again and paused before they slid open. Turn to your right, make a left, look on your left. I followed the guidance, reaching a steel door with a neon clipboard onto the hook at said 'Rouille, Tessa Jane' along with some formalities. I knocked on the door, the sound echoing through the long, empty hall.

The door opened a crack, revealing a young nurse in dull red uniform peering out.

"Ah, Guardian Belikov."

"I'm here to get a report on her for the queen." I reply. The nurse opened the door all the way and ushered me into the room.

"Here," she pauses, handing me a neon clipboard with a flower pen that is stacked with papers. "Is her personal information along with details of the accident. The updates on her conditions are on the computer. Do you want me to print them?" The nurse asks kindly, already reaching for the laptop settled on the desk.

"That would be fine. Do you mind reprinting her personal information too?" I ask, running my hands along the sheets of whiteness contaminated by black ink.

"Of course not! I'll set these down at the front table in the lobby. Just remember to take it on your way out." She smiles again before she opens the door and leaves with a thin metallic laptop in hand, leaving me alone with Tessa. The nurse seemed frantic to get out of the room. I flipped through the pages clipped onto the board. Every fact possible was listed, and I set it down. The heart machine beeped, and the changing lines on the green screen evened out. I looked at the sleeping girl underneath the pile of standard white hospital covers. She slept with her stomach on the bed and her head turned to the side, strands of black hair covering her face. A strand of hair moved as she let out a small breath, shifting to turn away from me. I could tell she was still drowsy in the cover of sleep. A small cough followed, muffled by the covers.

"This is when you're supposed to say 'sleeping beauty awakes', and I wake up to see a sexy guy rubbing sunscreen on my back." I can barely hear what she says, and when I do, I'm not sure whether to scold her or laugh. My face remain still and I reach over and press the call button.

"A nurse will be arriving shortly to assist you. Please sit tight." It ended with a beep, and Tessa swatted at the covers with a groan.

"It smells _horrible_ in here. Where the hell am I?" I raised an eyebrow at her language, but she wasn't looking at me and I could tell she didn't really care anyways.

"St. Vladimir's Hospital, temporarily."

"I've lived in Seattle all my life, and I've never heard of that. Yes, I live in the hipster city. Are we in Portland? Vancouver?" The mention of Portland bought a painful memory… When I first met my Roza, trying to protecting Lissa. I swallowed, careful to keep my face blank, and ignored all the painful memories that filled my head.

"Try Montana." With that, she sat up, hair a mess but eyes wide.

"What the hell? Montana? Who even are you?" She glared at me uneasily, tensing up and edging away from me. I recognized that tone. She was getting worked up. I drew back slightly, drawing my hands in front of me to calm her. I wondered if she could see my expression skillfully tucked away. _Rose,_ My breath grew shallow. Could she see that my hands were shaking?

"I'm not going to do anything, I pr-" My words were cut off from the gray door opening and a nurse writing something on the clipboard tucked in a pocket on the door.

"You're awake! That's lovely. Good morning, my name is Julia. I am your nurse. Sit back, lie down. We have to run a few tests on you, I'm afraid, just to test your health. No worries!" She continued to ramble, asking her about sheets and water and what not. I tilted my head at Tessa, who seemed to be frightened at the sudden commotion. Giving her a small nod goodbye, I turned and walked out.


End file.
